"We have a three-year lease," Gleber says. "And the landlord hasn't exactly been like, 'You're gone in one more year' or 'You're not gone.' But most likely, I would think we are out since it's getting hot around here with the cranes and all that stuff."

The plan: A sale by Gleber and his partners to a group of Tobacco Road employees, followed by a relocation a block away to "the triangle building on the edge of the parking lot" at 69 SW Seventh Street.

"Basically, I was approached by manager Joel Rivera and the employees, and they asked, 'What's the possibility of us buying it?' So I talked to some of the other investors to tell them that the employees are trying to put together a program to purchase, move, and run it.

"The investors said, 'Yeah. That's a great idea. Let's see what happens."

Of course, the Road's staff members would need to put up a lot of cash — "$1.5 and $2 million," Gleber estimates — to complete the sale and relocation.

"There's a liquor license. There's money needed for the lease of the new building and the build-out," he says. "But it can be done in phases. And I told them that this doesn't preclude other investors coming in."

The employees are looking to post personal money, host a series of benefit concerts, and raise funds with a Kickstarter campaign in the hope of saving Tobacco Road.

Another part of rescue attempt will be salvaging any and every scrap of 626 S. Miami Avenue for use at 69 SW Seventh Street.

"The property owners have told us that we can remove anything from the bar," Gleber says. "The neon sign, the bartop, whatever."

Photo by Alex Markow

Obviously, it's quite possible the Road's staff will fail to collect the necessary couple of million bucks.

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